Georgia Teacher Forced to Retire for Telling Students That Obama Is Not a Christian

Dublin, Georgia, middle school teacher Nancy Perry will retire at the end of this school year, and chances are she won’t receive a gold watch. Dublin City Schools voted to force Perry to retire because she allegedly told her students that President Obama is not a Christian, and neither is anyone who voted for him.

Dublin City Schools Superintendent Dr. Chuck Ledbetter announced the retirement of Nancy Perry early Tuesday morning, while simultaneously apologizing to students and parents for Perry’s actions.

“It is not the place of teachers to attempt to persuade students about religious or political beliefs,” Ledbetter said. “In doing so, the teacher was wrong and that has been communicated to her… Just as importantly, we are communicating this message to all staff of the school district.”

In March, Perry a veteran teacher at Dublin Middle School, told her students that the president is not a Christian — and that anyone who voted for him was not a Christian. Parents protested and the NAACP called for sanctions against Perry.

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Immediately after parents complained to Nancy Perry about her comments, a meeting was set up to address them.

Although Perry has said that she never made the comments, at the meeting, according to the NAACP, she “presented to the parents a packet of several pages from a website that expressed her views on religion and politics. … The parents’ concern was exacerbated by the teacher’s unwillingness to even consider the possibility that her classroom conduct was not conducive to a healthy learning environment.”

Added to the accusations leveled against Perry was that she allowed her husband to be in on meetings between her and parents. Perry’s husband Bill is a member of the local board of education, as well as a former local talk radio host.

Parents saw that as a form of intimidation…

Ledbetter has ordered all school principals to call his office immediately when a school board member tries to get involved in day-to-day school activities. NAACP officials had threatened to involve the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, an accrediting agency, arguing that Bill Perry was “micromanaging” the schools.

“An individual board member should not participate in a parent/teacher or parent/principal conference nor should an individual board member in any way attempt to involve himself in a parental concern or a personnel matter at the school level,” Ledbetter said.